Funchal, Madiera, Portugal

Entertainment
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5.11.2007 Funchal.Madeira, Portugal

Last night we had a most enjoyable d inner with old friends, Kathleen and John Neil of Alexandria, Va. It’s been about 10 years since we last saw them. They have a place at Bethany and we have several mutual friends. They boarded the ship in Lisbon and it turns out have traveled on The Silverseas many times.

This morning when we looked out at the world we were greeted by a beautiful sight-the city of Funchal on the side of a 14,000 ft. mountain, most of which is underwater, with much evidence of the lush greenness that has made, it famous. Madeira is said to be one of the most fertile mountaintops in the entire world. Sugar cane, grapes and bananas flourish along the coast. Farmed terraces climb the hillsides along the mountainous spine of the island. Flowers are everywhere. Presently a self governing colony of Portugal, the country today benefits from at one time being controlled by the French, Spanish and British as these once sea-going colonial powers arm-wrestled each other over this outpost between the 15^th and 19^th centuries. The island has an idyllic climate and a laid back style that has made it an increasing popular resort for wealthy Europeans who have seen the Med.

Guess who?
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Once again we were entertained by Judy and Brian Robertson representing The Virtuoso Travel organization and once again it was an outstanding day-many thought the best of the five events they invited us to during the cruise. Our tour started with a walk through the Saturday morning market which different and pleasing. Next was a basket factory where we saw all kinds of handcrafted baskets woven locally. On the way,our nice new tour bus sounded an alarm signifying a water leak. All day long we were either driving up or down steep grades and this happened while we were on a sharp incline. Thanks to a cell phone, a maintenance truck and a replacement bus showed up within 25 minutes and no one suffered discomfort because of the wait.

Reid's Palace Hotel
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Perched on a hill 1677 ft. above Funchal ,the \town of Monte is known for its pretty setting and its 18^th century, twin towered church, Igreja Do Monte, a prominent landmark.\The views of the city and harbor below were wonderful all day long no matter where we were.

From the church I chose to return downtown by riding a basket carriage\made of a wicker chair with an upholstered seat and back they can take two passengers and are commoningly used by tourists after a visit to Monte. Underneath the wicker chair are two wooden sticks like skis which enable it to slide down\\\the steep pathway, controlled by ropes held in the strong experienced hands of two “carreiros” who stand for most of the trip on a wooden platform behind the wicker chair.\Since Sallie Joanne and Don chose to travel back down into the city to meet us by bus, my partner on the ride down was Suzanne Hauer of San Francisco. The ride was an exciting\and exhilarating experience and certainly a new one for all of us who took it.

Restaurant Cipriani from below
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Lunch was a rear treat. We were taken to the legendary Reid’s Palace Hotel sat on cliff tops overlooking the rich blue waters of Funchal Bay and The Atlantic. For more than 100 years Reid’s Hotel has been a standard bearer for Madeira and beyond. A favorite retreat of royal, celebrated and historic figures, including Winston Churchill and George Bernard Shaw, Reid’s history is chronicled and proudly displayed in the reception lounges. \Lunch was in their terrace restaurant, The Cipriani ,on a terrace overlooking cliffs and water on a perfectly delightful day. It included a four course meal with fine Madeira wines and a very good vocalist and four musicians to entertain us. Following lunch the ladies were presented with a gift of a beautifully embroidered linen handkerchief and for the men, straw hats with a Madeira hat band. We then were entertained by 8 dancers in native attire with folk dances that eventually included some from our group including me. I did not volunteer for this activity but all seemed to enjoy it but one of the guests Rex McCorkell of Australia ended up on the dance floor embarrassed but uninjured.

Hotel gardens
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We then took a walk through the lovely gardens and the hotel before returning tired, overly full in our stomachs and very happy following one of the best day’s on tour we have had. Sallie and I did have a drink on deck with a group of 10 before returning to our suite for a new game of cards we have learned, Spite & Malice , and a BLT sandwich from room service and early to bed.